James Harden’s tenure with the Rockets seems to have all but come to an end, as the former MVP was not at practice on Wednesday for what coach Stephen Silas cited as being what was “best for the group” if he wasn’t in attendance. This came after Harden effectively burned all bridges in his postgame press conference on Tuesday night following a loss to the Lakers, ripping the organization and making it clear he needed to be moved ASAP.
That message was apparently heard, and reports indicated that Harden likely won’t ever be back at the Rockets facility and a trade, either to Philadelphia or Brooklyn, is expected to be done either later today or in the very, very near future. Those comments last night by Harden were quickly pushed back on by John Wall in his postgame presser, as the point guard noted that Harden, without saying his name, wasn’t buying in.
On Wednesday, DeMarcus Cousins was even less subtle when asked about the Harden situation, calling out the disrespect Harden has shown the Rockets not just in his postgame presser last night, but in his actions since the beginning of the season.
#Rockets Demarcus Cousins on the Harden situation & public comments last night, if he feels betrayed after signing here. “I don’t feel betrayed at all, my interest (in signing here) was playing with John Wall to be brutally honest.” (More in video below). @SportsTalk790 pic.twitter.com/cBNGbcj7ML
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) January 13, 2021
Cousins is certainly not wrong here, as Harden’s disinterest in being on the Rockets has been evident since his club tour of America during training camp. Still, the way he vocalized things last night was especially disrespectful in the eyes of Cousins, who noted that it felt inevitable that a nasty breakup was coming, and doesn’t seem interested in seeing harden come back.
demarcus cousins on james harden saying the rockets aren’t good enough pic.twitter.com/NZrwB4ODNE
— James Herbert (@outsidethenba) January 13, 2021
Boogie on if Harden could play with the team again: I don’t know. But I honestly don’t care.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) January 13, 2021
It honestly feels rather incredible that it took a month for all of this to spill out publicly, and the good news for Cousins, Wall, and the rest of the team is that they can now move on. Harden also will be getting his wish in the form of a new team, and as long as the Rockets get a strong return back, one has to believe everyone will just be relieved that this saga has come to a close.
